· Jungle River
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
· Looking Ahead

Global 200 Snapshot

The Upper Paraná River and its tributaries are distinguished both by their spectacular waterfalls and by their exceptional levels of freshwater biodiversity.  

Jungle River

Flowing through Amazon jungles, the Paraná River is home to fish with fierce-sounding names, including piranhas, lungfishes, and sabretooth anchovies. More than 300 fish species live in the Paraná -- many are found only in this fast-flowing river. The fiercest part of this river, however, may be the spectacular Iquazú Falls, plunging 270 feet (82 m) and stretching more than 2.5 miles (4 km) at the point where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet.

Special Features

Several of the tributaries to the Paraná, like the Bermejo, Pilcomayo, and Paraguay, come from many directions and are thousands of miles long. These mighty rivers feed into the Paraná, increasing the volume of its flow as it heads south and forms part of the border between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

	It’s easy to see why the Guarani Indians named Iquazú Falls "Great Water." Stretching for 2.5 miles (4 km) and plunging 270 feet (82 m), Iquazú Falls is a collection of 275 separate, rocky waterfalls. It is such a spectacular place that the United Nations declared it a Natural Heritage Site in1986.

Wild Side

The upper Paraná basin supports more than 300 species of fish, with a large number of endemic species in individual tributaries that most likely have evolved due to isolation by waterfalls. For example, the Rio Iguazu, which is isolated from the Paraná River by the Iguazu Falls, supports 65 species of fish, of which about 50 species are endemic. Other fish, such as Prochilodus lineatus and Salminus maxillosus, migrate hundreds of miles upstream during springtime floods to spawn. A few swim from the ocean into freshwater to spawn, including the Atlantic sabretooth anchovy. One type of lungfish and two piranhas are also residents of the ecoregion.

Cause for Concern

Many people have moved to the fertile lands around the Upper Paraná Rivers and Streams and cleared forests for agriculture. This has caused siltation from soil erosion and water pollution from pesticides. The many cities and industries that are located in the ecoregion also put sewage into the water system, which has killed many fish and other species. And dams, which have been built to create electricity and control floods, have destroyed habitat and changed the natural conditions that fish and other species depend on.

Looking Ahead

Check back soon for more about the conservation of this ecoregion.